In a Temple by the Sea
by Andrea Elizabeth
Summary: COMPLETE Her body rocked slowly back and forth, like waved under a ship. A warm, Mediterranean breeze danced across her face, her hair blew across her face, tapping it gently. Wake up, it said. She ignored it. Blankets were piled on her body, successfull
1. Waking Up in Heaven

**_a/n:_** _This is just the begining, when I finish Mischeif Managed I'll continue this one. Warnings include: HBP spoilers, language, sexuality, gore/violence. HG/SS_

**Chapter One: Awake**

Her body rocked slowly back and forth, like waved under a ship. A warm, Mediterranean breeze danced across her face, her hair blew across her face, tapping it gently. _Wake up,_ it said. She ignored it. Blankets were piled on her body, successfully trapping her in bed, and there she would stay. She became aware of her body slowly. First she rediscovered her shoulder blades, and the creaking ropes beneath them. Then she was aware of her toes and the silk pooled around them. She wiggled them slowly, noting they were still there. From there the feeling traveled up her legs, to her torso, fingers and head. She was safe, warm, comfortable. The last time she had felt this way was at Hogwarts and she settled into the feeling. _This must be heaven,_ she rejoiced, laughter ringing inside her head. _I must be dead, I wonder if Harry is here. I wonder how _it _ended…_ As the smell of citrus drifted past her nose she wondered why there were oranges in heaven. She loved oranges. _There are oranges in heaven because I love them_.

The breeze was sweet and fresh. A reminder of how life had once been. Before the stench of death covered her earth, before corpses surrounded her and invaded all the corners of her life. She sighed and tried to move, her body swung wildly and she settled back into her hammock, moving was going to be too much work now, she was just going to enjoy the air, the sweet birdsong and the breeze.

"Miss Granger," a cool voice like ocean crashed over her. _When was the last time I was Miss Granger?_ She wondered idyllically. It felt like several lifetimes ago. "Miss Granger, it is time to open your eyes." She'd never disobeyed that voice. She opened her eyes and found herself looking at a marble ceiling. Her eyes went to the edge of the ceiling and followed a Greek column down to the floor. Hammocks hung in neat rows from one end of the open air temple to next. "Very good, Miss Granger_," when was the last time that voice complimented me? Oh yes, never…_ "Will you focus on me now?" The voice rumbled and her eyed flickered to his face_. He's been in the sun. He got a tan in heaven_, her thoughts giggled. Her cinnamon brown eyes focused on his dark obsidian ones. He held a glass with a straw up to her lips and she latched onto it_. The water is so much sweeter in heaven_, she thought blissfully. For years her water had been poisoned with the bitterness of death.

"Is this heaven?" She asked drowsily. He laughed_, how long has it been since he laughed?_ She wondered_, this must be heaven._ She thought joyously.

"No, my dear, this is not heaven_." What?_

"But you_… died,_" she whispered. He leant in dug her hand out from it's cocoon of blankets and kissed the back of her hand gently.

"No, my dear_," how long has it been since he called me 'my dear'?_ Tears gathered in her eyes. "I have always been alive_." I love you!_ Her mind screamed,_ do you still love me? Though I let them touch me? Though I killed and slaughtered? Do you still love me? I thought you were dead, I would never have-_ "I know, my dear, I know! Which is why you had to think I was dead. My cover was blown anyway, the world needed me to be dead, so that we could end it. It had to end. I'm sorry I lied to you," He whispered, tears gathering in his dark eyes, like the water at the bottom of the ocean, like the space in between the stars. He was her net, there to catch her, his eyes caught her like space caught the stars.

"I still love you," She said, "Do you still love me?" Tears spilled over, racing down her face, he pulled a crème handkerchief from his trouser pocket and wiped the tears from her face like one would gather precious crystals. She laughed when she saw it.

"My first one," She said, referring to her brief stint of embroidery.

"Yes, to your first love," he beamed.

"My only love." She clarified.

"And you are mine, my dear." He leant in and kissed her on the lips briefly. "I love you, my dear, my angel, Mrs. Hermione Snape if you will still have me," He pulled the diamond ring he had meant to give her for years from his pocket.

"I will," she glowed. The angel God had sent from heaven to save him, to save their world, to be his wife. "And Severus... this _is _heaven."


	2. Decisions Decisions

**Chapter Two: In a Temple By the Sea: Decisions Decisions**

She was all easy, sloping curves. And she moved in a gentle, rocking, swaying fashion. She spun in the center of the near empty temple, only residual remains left of the hospital it had once been. The light cotton, medieval cut dress spun out around her like a blossoming orchid. Long curly hair, far longer than she'd ever allowed it to be bounced with her steps, her partner in the dance. Sunlight poured through the pillars of stone, and she twirled gracefully through them, delighting in the way her shadow quickly disappeared and then suddenly reappeared. She stopped, smiling at the way the world tilted and spun before her. A tall figure leant against one pillar, his dark pants and light shirt moving from one side of her vision to another. Slowly he stopped moving. Hermione took a step towards him and fumbled for her balance. After several tries her steps got stronger and she was able to make her way to him with some kind of dignity.

"Hello my dear," He said kindly and she smiled at him.

"Hello, my new husband," she said as she stood on her tip toes to kiss the end of his very long nose. He smiled and she giggled, reaching her arms around her neck to better reach him. He allowed her one brief kiss before her feet left the ground. Slowly he spun her, almost idyllically.

"So my dear, you like to spin?" He asked as he rotated them faster and faster. Hermione let out a thrilled shriek and clung tighter to him. The room spun and the only thing that stayed in focus was those incredible eyes.

_Focus on me, his mind whispered to hers. Keep your eyes on me. Focus Hermione! His voice thundered through her skull. She opened her eyes and locked on him. _Focus,_ she thought to herself while the death eaters rallied around her. Exploring her flesh. It had been a while since there had been a new female death eater to delight in. And the men where excited to have her. Apparently Bellatrix was no longer satisfying, she'd been used up. Hermione let her mind drift, to the palaces of France, and the gardens of Giverny. Where the flowers grew bright and vivid and the air was filled with pollen and the humming of bees. Where hummingbirds danced and the sun always shone. This was where Hermione went when life got to horrid to handle. _

_"Well done, my child," his voice whispered. Hermione smiled at him blissfully, caught up in the memory of sunshine and heat, unaware of what may or may not have occurred. The first thing she really saw were his eyes before she looked to her Lord._

_"Thank you, Master," she whispered. A bit of groveling and modesty never hurt in this business._

_"I'm sure you've heard the rumors that Severus has… trouble, with the ladies. I'm hoping you can cure him of that. Take her home with you Severus. And I better see some action when you've returned." Severus allowed himself one quick glare in the Masters direction before exiting the room, Hermione scrambled to follow, being audatious enough to wink at the Dark Lord as she exited, clad in nothing but her birthday suit and seemingly careless of the fact. _

The memory faded and Hermione found she was still safe in those eyes. She smiled and leant in to kiss him, the spinning stopped… or started, depending how you look at it.

Dumbledore had asked for a volunteer. Hermione had shifted in her seat uncomfortably. _What can be so horrid he won't just assign it?_ She wondered, glancing around at the rooms other occupants who were also looking miffed. "I need someone for a deep cover operation, much like the one Severus has been on the past twenty years. Please give this some lengthy consideration; it is not to be undertaken lightly. That's all, go home."

He looked old. HiHis hand was a whithered black h

His hand was withered and shrunken, a twisted black remnant of what it had once been. _He needs another spy. He doesn't know how to do this without the information Severus brought him. I don't know how we'd do this without the information Snape brings in. _Severus had been discovered a week ago, and had barely escaped. The official news was that he's been killed. Order members knew he's been sent to a safe house until the war ended. But at this point few doubted it would end. Hermione waited until the room emptied before making steely eye contact with Dumbledor.

"I'll do it," she said quietly. He looked up from his slumped, brooding pose.

"What?" It was as if nothing computed in his brain anymore, everything was a bit fuzzy.

"I'm the logical choice. Harry can't do it; Ginny can't do it because she's his rock. Ron and Lavender are in love. The twins have an assignment, and only they're brilliant enough to do it. Neville is hopeless at espionage and Luna's too spacey. The Patil twins are idiots. I'm the logical choice. I can do it and I will do it." She crossed her arms over he chest and glared at him, daring him to refute her logic. He only sighed.

"I know. Go tell your parents goodbye and be back here at six. I need to speak to Severus." He waved a hand at her and she walked out the door, her back held in a ridged line. _He knew it would be me. He knew… What have I gotten myself into?_ She wondered as she closed the door, swallowing uncertainly as she did so.


	3. Lycra

_**IMPORTANT A/N:** As of Dec 23, 2006 this chapter has been re-done. If you read the earlier version I suggest you read this version for the sake of continuity. _

**In a Temple By the Sea: Chapter Three: Lycra and Sex**

_Her parents hadn't understood. Why couldn't she just come back to their world? Why did she have to fight in a war they didn't really believe existed? She'd stood in the middle of their beige living room watching her mother yell and her father sit in his corduroy lazy boy and brood. Then she'd left, packed all her belongings up, shrunken them, put on the black lycra wizarding gear that made her feel like Laura Croft, put all her belongings in a box and sent it to the Weasley's. Then she sat on the end of her bare bed and cried. Then she picked up the small bag containing the few items she'd deemed necessary and then apparated to in front of Grimbauld place. Dumbledore was waiting for her with an old shoe. Hermione looked at him suspiciously._

"_He's in the middle of something right now, if he doesn't come to meet you, wait. Here you are." He handed her the shoe and activated it. She saw him for another few seconds before she was traveling in the sickening manner characteristic of portkeys. She landed on the front porch of a Victorian style house. All around her were gardens. Enourmous rose bushes dominated one area of this immense garden. Hermione traveled towards them, turning on her heel as she went. _

_Severus' land was immense and beautifully kept. She wondered if he paid people to keep it up for him while he was away or if he had a system of complex charms on it. _House elves,_ Hermione thought, mentally hitting herself for not thinking of it sooner… _house elves.

_--:--_

_Someone was on his land. Probably the recruit Dumbledore thought would survive being a death eater spy. Like throwing a snowball into hell and wondering if it will come out a snow cone. He stood up, summoning one of the elves to continue stirring the potion. His elves could probably become potions masters themselves if they ever wanted to. If the know-it-all Granger ever succeeds with SPEW all the potion masters in the world would be out of business in ten minutes… No, make that five. _

_He cracked the vertebrae in his neck, sending them clicking back into place. His footsteps made no noise on the rickety stairs, he hardly ever made nose when moving. Years of practice and near death experiences had taught him techniques, charms and potion to aid his silence. _

_There was a figure by his prized rosebushes, his mothers favorites all meticulously planted and cared for. Without notice he rushed towards the figure, hoping to scare the young idiot back into the safety of Grimbauld place._

_Hermione bent down to examine a not-yet-opened bud near the ground. When she did so she saw a figure rushing towards her. Long black covered legs running quickly in succession towards her being soundlessly. I want to know how to do that. She thought before hitting the ground flat and rolling under the figure as he jumped. She popped up behind him as he skidded to a halt, barely stopping before he collided with the rosebushes. Hermione grabbed one arm and twisted it behind him, removing his wand with her other hand._

"_I don't know what in the bloody hell you thought you were doing but I'd appreciate it if you didn't attempt it again." She whispered in his ear. Severus rolled his eyes and pivoted on one foot before throwing her over his back. Hermione thudded to the ground, leaving an impression of her body in the ground. A moment later he had pinned her arms above her head and was sitting on her hips casually._

"_Miss Granger, what an unpleasant surprise. What on earth are you doing here?" He drawled coldly, not liking where this was going. Hermione smirked at him and kicked her legs up, sending them both rolling over so that she was on top. She brought her knee to rest lightly at the apex of his legs threateningly. _

"_I was sent here. This is my new assignment. Do you always attack trainees?" she asked with an incredibly Slytherin smirk._

"_Usually… Go home Granger, you're not cut out for this." His voice drizzled over her like frozen syrup. Hermione refused to submit to it. She glared at him, her best "I'm lighting you on fire with my mind" glare. Severus stifled an annoyed sigh.. _Dumbledore must be out of his ever loving gourd. _He thought in annoyance, his lips curling unpleasantly._

"_Not cut out to what? Knock Death eaters onto their backs and threaten their manly hood? I seem to be doing an alright job now." She put a little pressure on her knee making his eyebrows rise expectantly. _She won't actually do it Who is she kidding?

"_Excuse me, Granger, but this highly inappropriate for a Student-Teacher relationship." He glared and rolled them over yet again. It was Hermione's turn to glare._

"_I thought you just told me to go home, I was just going to make my trip worthwhile. According to Bellatrix you're a good lay. Now, I think she was rather exaggerating your prowess, she is a little-"_

"_What? You've been talking to Bellatrix? How deep are you already in?" He grabbed her shoulders and leant down to peer into her eyes and then her memories. She can't already be in! she's not trained! They probably got all kinds of information out of her already. Why am I still sitting on her? Because she's nicely- Shut up. _

"_Now, I can't divulge that information to just anyone you know." She said with a smirk. She turned them over again, made a few unnecessary movements with her pelvis and stood up. "Goodbye, professor. It was nice seeing you." With that she sauntered off, hips swinging, finely sculpted buttocks accentuated by the lycra. _

"_Get back here, Miss Granger. It would seem if I don't train you you'll just end up giving away all of our secrets. At least this way I can do damage control. Chit." He whispered before stalking back to his house, crème shirt billowing behind him._

Since when does he wear crème?

"_I heard that." He chided._

Bastard.

Chit.

Eavesdropper.

Since when is that a crime_? He chided. Hermione blocked her mind and thrust him out it before trudging back to the house after him. She picked up her bag on the porch and followed him into the house. It was clean and airy, sunlight poured through window panes and danced along pine wood floors. The air smelled of citrus with an undercurrent of brewing potions. A comfortable looking tan couch sat in front of a fireplace in a room with bookshelves under the windows and plants growing in the sunlight on top of them. Hermione sighed deeply. It was perfect. _

"_The potions lab is through that door," he gestured to a room full of sunlight as well. I never knew you could brew potions in the sunlight. She thought sarcastically._

_You can do a lot of things in the sunlight. He thought back at her suggestively. Hermione snapped her wards back up and he rolled his eyes. Severus Snape just rolled his eyes. She thought with a snicker. A week in the country has addled his brains… _

_She followed him into a kitchen with wide open windows with billowing crème curtains. "So how far in have you already gotten, Miss Granger?" He asked as he filled a teapot with water._

_Hermione sighed and situated herself on a stool. "I've been meeting with Bellatrix and Draco in Knockturn alley for weeks, buying potions ingredients and books that the average innocent Gryffindor oughtn't have. Also, she and I went out the other night to some muggle clubs. She quite enjoyed herself, I was surprised." She said calmly, receiving the tea cup Severus handed her with a mumbled thanks. _

"_You got her to do what?" Severus sputtered while Hermione smirked coyly._

_He sat in his office, the wood furnishings stained a dark mahogany. Contrary to expectancy the room wasn't done up in Slytherin green and silver. The dark cherry wood was contrasted with a beautiful gold-flecked crème. Large windows overlooked his herb garden, bookshelves lined two walls of the study and the other was adorned with a large painting that looked suspiciously like a Monet. Severus sat at his desk, legs propped up on the side, a roll of parchment in his lap. _

I cannot believe I have to train Granger. She'll be here for months. Pestering my with her annoying questions, her busy hair taking up entire hallways. I doubt she'll learn anything. She'll assume she knows it all. _He scribbled another item on the sheet. He was working on a list of the skills Hermione would need if she wanted to survive the original interrogation. _At least this gets me back into the circle, even if she does die the dark lord will be pleased. _He mused, tapping his chin with the end of the eagle quill. _Perhaps that would teach Potter and Weasley that war isn't like that bloody muggle game they've been playing at for weeks. _With a put upon sigh he pushed his chair back from the desk and stood up, going to find Granger. _

_When he did he thrust the list at her with an icy glare. She met his eyes calmly. "What is this?" She asked softly, causing him to startle. _When did she loose the obnoxious know-it-all voice?_ He wondered snidely. _

"_Your schedule. I'd like you to be out of here in six months." His tone dared her to protest. She nodded calmly._

"_That's fine, that moves the time table up six months," she said quietly, still meeting his icy eyes. "I realize that you don't want me here Severus, and I don't want to be here either. Either way, thank you for taking me in, and for agreeing to teach me. I appreciate the effort." She said while folding her legs underneath her body. She set her book down on the side table and took the list from his hands gently. _

_She looked at the list critically, her eyes narrowed slits. "I think you covered pretty much everything," she began, Seveus snorted. _

"_I am the one who's been doing this for years," he muttered. Hermione looked up from the paper and frowned._

"_But I'm afraid you forgot one of the more important parts of study," she said calmly. Laying the paper down and crossing her hands on top of it. Severus leveled a scorching glare at her. "Sex," she said simply._

"_Sex?" he raised an eyebrow._

"_Yes. I have no doubts that as a female death eater I will be required to provide certain services. You need to ensure that I know how to do them adequately, and preferably better than Bellatrix so that I will be in higher demand than she is, pillow talk can be very informative."_

_Severus stared at the young Gryffindor before him. His former student. Possibly the brightest witch in the age. And she's sitting there very calmly asking her professor to have sex with her. Merlin… He hadn't thought of that. In fact he'd never considered the sexual aspect of Miss Hermione Granger. But as he sat staring at her he realized that she had become highly desirable. She was by no means of the imagination thin. She had thighs, hips, breasts, and a distinctly feminine way of holding herself. How did she get through Hogwarts without a boyfriend or ten? He wondered before clearing his throat._

"_Ah… yes, I hadn't calculated that into the equation. We'll have sex Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings." He said_. I cannot believe I just said that to Hermione Granger like I was scheduling a tutoring session!_ His face was flushed and Hermione smirked delicately. _

I don't think I've ever made a man do that before_. She thought with a snicker. "I'm going for a run then. I'll be back in time for our dueling session." She exited the room, her shoes a mere whisper on the floor. _We'll have to work on that_, Severus thought before mentally punching himself in the gut. _You just agreed to have sex with a student!


	4. Interrogation

_**IMPORTANT A/N:** As of Dec 23, 2006 this chapter has been re-written in it's entirety, it is nothing like the first version. I suggest if you have not read this version you do so. Otherwise, I'm afraid the rest of the story will make little sense. I apologize for the inconvenience. _

**In a Temple By the Sea: Chapter Four: Six Months and a Dark Mark**

_He demanded she fire curses with rapid accuracy and deadly force. "Any curse can kill, when delivered with enough strength. There are curses to freeze blood, stop hearts, remove hearts, boil the blood, and peel skin off the bone. You will learn them all," he breathed threateningly down her neck and Hermione stood up straighter. Instead of buckling beneath the pressure she stood stronger. _Severus Snape will _not _intimidate me._ She growled to herself. Her years of cultured dislike and grudging respect fueled her desire to prove herself to him. Why? She had no idea, but if they were going to work side by side she wanted him to at least respect her. He didn't need to like her. But once and a while she would enjoy it if she saw something other than distaste in his eyes. _He looks at me like I'm a parasite. _She mused one night as she lay wide awake staring at the ceiling. He'd been beating lesson after lesson into her for a month, sometimes quite literally. She winced when she remembered the duel where a curse had snapped her arm, and he'd kept firing curses. She'd fired her first wandless curse and summoned her wand to her other hand. She had missed the look of grim satisfaction on Severus' face while she rolled to her feet. _

"_Very good, Hermione," he'd said softly. "let me see that arm," in languid, confident strides he made his way over to where she stood uneasily, blood pounding in her ears, he body asking angrily what the hell she'd been thinking to get into this, her brain aware only of pain and sudden exhaustion. He looked into her eyes quietly, "Hermione, can you hear me?" He asked warily. She looked at him in confusion, cinnamon eyes wide with alarm. His alluring lips were moving, but no sound could be heard other than the rushing of blood in her ears. She tipped precariously to a side and his sinewy arms caught her. "Pain tolerance is abysmally low," he noted with a sigh._

_Hermione smiled at the ceiling in her room delightedly. _Maybe I'm a step up from a parasite,_ she thought with a school-girlish smile. Then she berated herself, _no more school-girl fantasies Hermione, you're about to enter the war on the frontlines. You'll be lucky if you emerge alive and with a sense of normalcy. _She sighed and turned over in her bed, determined to sleep. _

_Downstairs Severus sat in front of the fire in the living room, a tumbler of scotch in his hand. He stared into the dancing flames moodily. _I cannot believe I'm doing this,_ he mused. _Tearing the innocence from another young lady. Throwing her into a den of heathens with only a stick of wood and her wits. _He shook his head angrily. _Dumbledore thinks she can do it… _He tried to justify his actions. _Dumbledore also thought Anastazia could do it, but she died didn't she? Another beautiful lady, volunteering for a job she had only the vaguest inclinations of what it held in store for her… This is round two of the war, and we're still loosing. Sending young men out to the front to run and die for a cause, an ideal… _His face hardened as he thought. _I will do my duty. Life will go on. And at some point, the ideal of right may win. _He stood, once more tall and imposing. Once more a man of strength. His moment by the fire had passed, he was himself again._

_He dropped a dog that had been urinating on his roses in front of her. "Kill it," he commanded, his voice like quiet steel. Hermione hardly looked away from her book. She glanced at the dog,_

"_Avada Kedavra," she said before returning to her book, a muggle novel, Pride and Prejudice. Outwardly she was eerily calm. Inwardly and was biting her lip and her stomach was rolling. _I must do this, _she'd thought before waving her wand. She had poured her anger at Voldemort into the curse, the pain of her parents death, the righteous anger she felt every time another muggle girl was humiliated and raped by a horde of men. The fear she felt for Harry and Ron. The recently discovered anger for all Severus had gone through. He banished the remains and looked at her for several long moments._

"_You're coming to the revel with me tonight," He said finally, and that statement got her full attention._

"_Severus you were discovered. You can't go back. I'll just tell Bella-"She sat up quickly, book forgotten on the wicker table on the porch. Her eyes were large and fearful for a few moments before she schooled her face smooth and blank again. _

"_If I bring you into the circle all old debts will be repaid. I can beg my way back into Voldemorts good graces." He said with confidence. "Dumbledore and I have already discussed it." _

_Hermione settled it, "well if Dumbledore agreed it must be the right course of action." She said dully, returning to her book. Severus snickered, _so, someone else is intelligent enough to have deduced that for all his good intentions, the old man could be wrong. _"Just know that if he kills you I won't have it on my conscience," she threatened calmly, turning the page and looking like she was commenting on the weather._

_She didn't remember much of the revel when she awoke the next afternoon. She knew parts of her ached with a vengeance, her forearm throbbed and the dark mark twisted under her skin. Dirt, blood and cum stained her body and clothes. She sat up slowly, put her feet underneath her body and leant on her knees, rejoicing in the ability to breathe and be alive. Severus walked into the room and his presence was immediately noticed by a sense she'd never encountered before. Hermione looked at him in surprise._

"_When you joined the death eaters you became part of a network. When you're within fifty kilometers of one of us you will know who they are, and where they are," Severus explained, uncorking a potions bottled. "Drink," he commanded. Hermione responded automatically, in a slight daze. "What hurts?" he asked after a minute. Hermione pinned him with an incredulous glare._

"_I believe the better question would be what doesn't hurt? And the answer is my pinky toe," she said wryly. Severus grinned at her for a brief moment._

"_You're correct. Rest, relax. I'm sure he'll call within the next few days with your first assignment." He left the room quickly, albeit dramatically and Hermione was left to ponder his smile. _

_A few days later Hermione was back in her old flat in London. She roamed through the few rooms aimlessly, tracing fingers over old keepsakes, noting that for once they gave her no comfort; she missed Severus' rooms with the endless supply of books. She missed the smell of roses, oranges and herbs depending on which was the wind was blowing. She missed the tang of salt in the air. With a startled pang she noted that she missed the way his hands roamed her body at night, surprisingly tender and worshipful. At night he was a different man and she'd never figured out why. She shook her head, curls tumbling around her face. "Silly girl… what were you thinking?" She chided herself, even though she knew exactly what she'd been thinking. The mark on her arm twisted and Hermione ran to the front door grabbing the black cloak that hung there and pulled the mask from the inside pocket. Without thinking twice Hermione apparated and let the mark pull her away. _


	5. Reliving Old Memories

_**IMPORTANT A/N:** As of Dec 23, 2006 this chapter has been re-written in it's entirety, it is nothing like the first version. I suggest if you have not read this version you do so. Otherwise, I'm afraid the rest of the story will make little sense. I apologize for the inconvenience. _

**In a Temple by the Sea: Chapter Five: Lovely Conversation**

_Without thinking twice Hermione apparated and let the mark pull her away. _

_She landed and dropped to her knees, crawling forward to drop a delicate kiss on Voldemort's roble. Shly she backed away and waited for him to speak. "How are you this evening my dear?" He asked conversationally. Hermione looked up and smiled at him._

"_Oh, I'm very well my lord, how are you?" She asked the question without thinking, the good manners that had been beaten into her as a child backfiring. Somewhere behind her she was aware of Severus stiffening. Hermione herself allowed a look of horror to cross her face and she prepared for a cruciatus. Voldemort laughed and Hermione flinched._

"_Oh, you're delightful! An actual lady! It's been so long since I've been in the company of a true lady. I am delighted wih _you_ my dear, but at the moment I'm a bit peeved with Draco Malfoy," anger radiated from his being and Hermione pursed her lips. "Can you think of why?" Voldemort was once again conversational._

"_Perhaps he's fucking, my lord," Hermione said delicately, Voldemort raised an eyebrow._

"_Do you really think that's it?" He wondered aloud. Hermione shrugged._

"_Perhaps, rumors at school were that he quite enjoys the activity. And truly, if he's having trouble coming he might ignore your summons as to arrive unflustered so that he can devote his full attention to you and not to his nether regions." She shrugged again. "Or perhaps he's just an idiot," _

_Draco appeared next to Hermione and dropped readily to his knees. His usually impeccable hair awry and sweaty. "My lord," he breathed as he crawled to kiss Voldemort's robe. _

"_What kept you?" Voldemort asked icily._

"_My lord, I…" Draco paused and Hermione looked at him and rolled her eyes. _Idiot,_ she thought, dropping her mental barriers to allow Voldemort to hear._

"_That's what I thought, _Crucio." _Draco screamed for a second before his throat seized and he rolled on he floor, face red, body contorting painfully. Hermione watched with deliberate aloofness. Voldemort lifted the curse. "You and Miss Granger at to go to the Isle of skye, there is a cave at the northernmost point. Retrieve the chalice that is there." Hermione nodded._

"_We shall set out tomorrow my lord, I don't fancy working with one who is… less then 100." Hermione said disdainfully. Voldemort nodded and his followers apparated away._

_Hermione was making tea in her pale yellow teapot when she became aware of Severus' presence. "In the kitchen," she said nonchalantly. He was in a rage, she knew he would be._

"_What in the nine hells did you think you were doing, woman!" He demanded, blazing into the kitchen, eyes alight with black fire._

"_Making conversation. Why were you hidden?" She asked as she grabbed cups from the cupboard. "tea?" She asked looking back at him coyly._

"_No, thank you. You do not 'make conversation' with the dark lord! You cower. You beg. You glorify him. But you _do not _under any circumstances 'make conversation'! You do not want to draw attention to yourself Hermione! That is stupidity!" He ranted. Hermione sighed and leant against her blue flecked counter. _

"_Severus, you're making a mountain out of a molehill. Nothing happened. The dark lord wasn't displeased, in fact he seemed rather delighted by the conversation. Now, if he'd glared, or hexed me I would have shut right up. He didn't do either of those things. I gained a definite advantage over Bellatrix and many of the other death eaters." She said calmly. Severus glared at her._

"_If you get hurt…" he muttered at her. Hermione looked at him peacefully and with a question in mind._

"_Severus," she said peacefully, he looked up at her and 'hmmed', "how long have you cared?" She asked in her quiet, shocked fashion. His eyes met her and for one blissful moment they understood each other._

"_Long enough." She nodded, the moment was over but she set a cup of tea in front of him anyway._


	6. A Crime Against Fashion

_**IMPORTANT A/N:** Hello All! I'm very sorry to inform you, but… As of Dec. 23, 2006 chapters three, four and five have been re-written in their entirety. To understand this, and the following chapters you will need to go back and re-read the previous chapters. I spent some time editing over the past week and decided that for the good of the story this had to be done. I again, apologize for the inconvenience and hope that you understand and can forgive the momentary upset. Happy Christmas to All!!!_

**In a Temple by the Sea: Chapter Six: A Crime Against Fashion**

"Hermione," his voice drifted over the hills to her ears and she quickly lifted herself out of the coastal sand and made her way over the hill and into his waiting arms. She wrapped herself around him and inhaled deeply. _I love this man_, she thought delightedly. "Hermione," he held her out from his body and looked at her sadly. "They want us to give our testimony." He whispered softly. Hermione wilted.

"But he's dead. Why do they need our statements?" She asked, pain already clouding he once blissful face.

"For the record. Apparently they want the world to know our sacrifices," he said bitterly. Hermione hardened within his arms.

"But perhaps I don't want the world to know. Did the great gooey asshole think of that?" She spat angrily.

"Doubtful. I've packed," he began.

"Wait, they want us today?" He sighed, obsidian eyed meeting hers delightfully.

"Yes, my love, they do."

"For the love of Merlin," she breathed.

"Ah, Messer Snape and Miss Granger-" A short man who had probably hid behind his desk for the entire war greeted them as they entered the ministry. Hermione dropped the gold badge into a plant on her way past it distastefully.

"It's Mr. and Mrs. Snape, actually." She leveled his obnoxious confidence with a icy glare that had kept the nastiest of death eaters at bay. It was only by his stupidity that he was still upright.

"Ah yes, you're wanted in the main audience chamber," he looked at his notes nervously.

"The one in which they try Death Eaters?" Snape asked icily, his voice a low, dangerous drone. The man shriveled under their combined glares. Together they strode off. Both of them in full combat dress, capes billowing behind them. Hips covered in potions bottles, poisoned knives and a muggle pistol.

"Please submit your wands for inspection," _idiot man_, Hermione thought.

"No," she refused and spread her feet apart, readying herself for combat.

"Ah, you're entering the Ministers presence so you'll have to submit your wands and give me the rest of your weapons…" he looked between the two of them nervously.

"That answer is still no," without raising his wand Severus stunned them and they continued,

_We'll get in trouble for that, you know._ Hermione chided him gently. _And it's not like he would have nabbed the spare ones too._ She smirked inwardly, her outer countenance like that of an ice queen.

_It wasn't that he didn't have the right, it was the way he asked_. Severus said, smirking back at her in her mind.

Hermione burst the doors to the audience chamber open wandlessly, causing everyone inside to jump and turn. They strode down the center isle, capes billowing power radiating away from them in rolling waves. They stopped in front of the Wizengamot. Reporters light bulbs flashed around them. To Hermione it felt impossibly surreal. The minister scowled at them.

"You're still armed," he growled. Severus raised an eyebrow, Hermione spoke.

"And?" she murmured.

"You attacked a guard," he was well on his way into a tirade.

"And?" Severus questioned.

"You're not wearing your given badges!" he sputtered.

"They're ugly," Hermione protested while examining her fingernails.

"Everyone knows who we are," Severus said logically. "And gold really clashes with my complexion." Wandlessly he conjured up two excessively plushy black chairs and he and Hermione settled into them, forgetting to give the minister his courtesy bow.

The minister seemed to realize he had lost this battle and promptly began another one. "We would like to hear Miss Grangers testimony, if you would kindly ascend to the—"

"It's actually Mrs. Snape and I don't think I will, I'm quite comfortable here. I will, however, give my testimony. Though it is rather long, so is there any particular parts you'd like to hear?" She asked abusively.

"What was your relationship with the recently deceased Draco Malfoy?" He asked rudely.

_Throw as many barbs in there as you can old man, you won't rattle me._ "Draco was one of my first contacts within the circle…

"_Mudblood, what are you doing in my neck of the woods?" A familiar voice drawled from behind her. _Just the boy I wanted to see,_ she thought before turning. _

"_Just looking for a few books they don't have in the more _respectable_" she put heavy sarcasm onto the word respectable, hoping her callous nature would gain her some minute smidgen of respect, "bookstores don't have. Nothing you'd be interested in…" She turned the books cover towards herself, hoping he'd take the bait and want to know what it was._

"After I'd gained entry to the circle Draco and I were partnered on a few tasks that are documented in Dumbledore's files so I won't go through them. For the various and numerous visitors in the audience we did a few reconnaissance missions, on one of which I was able to destroy a Horocrux….


	7. BedRest

_A/N: Happy Christmas to all! I hope you gained at least five pounds and if you didn't shame on you! I hope everyone figured the re-write's out alright. Remember to Review!!!_

**In a Temple by the Sea: Chapter Seven: Bed rest**

"Draco was one of my first contacts within the circle…

"_Mudblood, what are you doing in my neck of the woods?" A familiar voice drawled from behind her. _Just the boy I wanted to see,_ she thought before turning. _

"_Just looking for a few books they don't have in the more _respectable_" she put heavy sarcasm onto the word respectable, hoping her callous nature would gain her some minute smidgen of respect, "bookstores don't have. Nothing you'd be interested in…" She turned the books cover towards herself, hoping he'd take the bait and want to know what it was._

"After I'd gained entry to the circle Draco and I were partnered on a few tasks that are documented in Dumbledore's files so I won't go through them. For the various and numerous visitors in the audience we did a few reconnaissance missions, on one of which I was able to destroy a Horocrux….

_A fang descended into Draco's arm. Hermione shot a killing curse over his falling head before apparating them to her potions lab where she shoved a bezoar down his throat to counteract the potion. A few moments later he was awake and cursing._

"_What was that?" He spluttered angrily._

"_I believe it was Nagni…"She said quietly, dreading the next summons._

"_Shit. Shit. Shit!" Draco swore loudly, flinging a set of vials across the room._

"_I needed those you wanker!" She crossed the room, "reparo." She muttered before glaring._

"_He's going to—" Draco began._

"_I have a general idea thank you! I don't want to dwell on it!" She shrieked, sounding more and more insane every day. Her feet paced the stone floor silently, her lip set in a straight line. "Come along," she said finally, grabbing Draco's sleeve and apparating them out of the room. They appeared a moment later in Voldemorts throne room._

_Draco glared at her. _He is going to beat the shit out of me when he gets the chance. _Hermione thought with a mental shrug before lowering herself to her knees and crawling forwards to kiss the hem of Voldemort's robes._

"_We are ever faithful to you, my lord," The intoned together._

"_My youngest death eaters, what brings you to me so… unexpectedly?" Hermione glanced at Draco, hoping vainly that he would talk. He was looking directly at the floor, shuddering in fear._

"_My lord, you sent us to the cave on in the northern isles. Inside we encountered an unknown creature. It attacked Draco. I'm afraid… I'm afraid I killed it…" She was shuddering now as well, the arms that supported her shaking wildly. _

"_Show me! _Leglimens!_" He was in her mind, tearing it apart. Hermione had prepared for this, putting the memory at the front of her mind so he had little need to probe further. He found the memory easily enough. After a few moments he released her and she fell to the ground, limbs twitching slowly. "_Crucio,_" he whispered after a moment and Hermione screamed for several long, terrifying moments. Her body twitched spasmodically. The blood vessels rose to the surface of her skin and popped, leaving her red and blotchy. "Leave me," he released them and after a few minutes of heavy breathing they both apparated away. _

_Hermione landed herself on Severus' porch and crumbled to her knees. She hadn't been in this idyllic land since entering the circle six months ago. And even though he had brought her in they didn't interact much. He opened the door and looked at her battered, bleeding body._

"_Hermione," he breathed as he reached down to brush wayward curls away from her face. "What did you do?" He gathered her into his arms; if she hadn't been delirious from the pain she would have labeled the action as tender. He carried her into his private potions lab, a room she'd only been in once or twice before. Wandlessly he transfigured a couch and laid her on it, covering her with a blanket a moment later. He summoned an army of potions bottles to his side and uncorked one. "Swallow," he commanded, her lips opened and he poured it down her throat. Seven vials later she could talk and blink without much pain._

"_Hi," she croaked before coughing a bit. Severus frowned at her._

"_You're not out of the woods yet Hermione," he chided. "I'm going to remove you clothes… sorry," he said as an after thought. Hermione laughed._

"_I'm a death eater Severus, I haven't had modesty in months." He sighed._

"_And that is a crying shame," he said before muttering the charm to remove her clothes and starting in on healing her torn skin. Hermione hummed unknowingly. There was something utterly soothing about healing charms and the warmth they gave. Minutes later he was done and covering her up to her chin with the blanket. "What did you do?" he repeated._

"_He sent Draco and I to this cave up north, Nagni was there. She bit Draco. I killed her. We went to tell him. He wasn't pleased." She said nonchalantly. Severus exhaled sharply._

"_Hermione, she was the last of them. Harry got the scepter a few days ago." He beamed at her and she broke out into a grin as well, sitting up and wrapping her arms around him. He returned the embrace, surprising them both. _

"Severus helped me recover, after that incident… Well, I gave up my flat in London and moved in with Severus. My living with him lessened the number of me I had to bed… Because of the way death eater culture is set up there are very few women. As such, when a male death eater is to be rewarded he is given the company of a female death eater for the night. Therefore, our relationship was also sexual. But that's not out of the ordinary for the culture." She sat back in the lounge chair, swinging her feet idily. The Wizengamot looked scandalized.

"How old are you Miss- Mrs. Snape?" The Minister asked snidely.

"Twenty-three," _what is he getting at?_ She wondered.

"And _how_ many sexual partners have you had?" He asked with a scowl.

"Because I wanted to have them or because I had to have to keep my cover?" She asked with an icy glare.

"Hmm… both," _he thinks he's got the better of me… ass…._

"One, and… twenty five," she shrunk a bit… _is it really twenty five? _She wondered…

_It's one, Hermione. Just one. The others don't count._ Mentally she hugged Severus.

_I love you._ She thought.

_I love you too._

"And what exactly was you relationship with Mr. Snape throughout all of this?" The minister asked angrily.

"Ah well… initially he was my mentor. He taught me all I would need to know in order to survive within the inner circle. The information he gave me was invaluable…

"_Damnit Hermione! You have to let me hit you!" He crowed, black locks flying wildly around his face._

"_I know! Damnit. It's a reflex!" She screeched back, before leaning against a pillar and breathing wildly._

"_Break through them! You cannot look to be as talented as the senior members. They'll see you as a threat and kill you straight off!" he warned, conjuring a glass of water and guzzling it down. _

"_Sorry…" Hermione mumbled, slumping to the ground holding her head, she felt like her brain was expanding in her skill, threatening to burst the thing apart. Severus was next to her in a moment._

"_Whats wrong?" He asked, placing hands on her temples._

"_It's nothing…" she murmered, but leant into his cool touch anywyas._

"_You have a fever, Miss Granger." He said calmly. "You should have told me you didn't feel well," he slid thin, but deceptively strong arms underneath her legs and behind her back, lifting her effortlessly. "And you're thinner than you where when you got here," he observed with some chagrin. _This does not bode well…_ he thought sadly. Many did not adjust to death eater life and wasted away into nothing. He did not want to know what Potty and Weasel would do if they discovered Hermione's condition. "It's bed rest for the next few days for you, my dear," he said with a smirk. Hermione hardly protested._


	8. Eavesdroppers

**Chapter Eight: In a Temple By the Sea: Eavesdroppers **

_He knocked on her door before entering and found Hermione propped up in her bed, white silk squares surrounding her. She had a circular hoop with a white cloth stretched across it in her lap and a needle threaded on a brilliant orange string drove in and out of the fabric carefully. She looked up at him and smiled. "G'morning Severus," she said cheerfully._

"_Ah, I find you in better spirits this morning?" He crossed the room in a few strides, his long and powerful legs carrying him easily. _

"_Much, hang on just a moment and I'll be done." She tied the thread off in the back, unclasped the hoop and pulled the fabric from it easily. Methodically she folded the handkerchief into a square before handing it too him with a proud smile. "The first one I've finished," he took it from her and admired the small, and sometimes clumsy stitches. She'd done an excellent rendition of a phoenix onto the fabric. He smiled and tried to hand it back. "Oh no! It's yours." She said, almost timidly. _

"_Oh, well… thank you my dear," he said quietly. When was the last time someone had given him a gift for the sake of giving him a gift? He leant over and brushed his lips against her forehead. "I'll treasure it."_

"_Roll! Roll! That's spinning, dear." He smirked as the disgruntled witch glared at him, dirt covering every inch of her. _Merlin, she's sexy,_ he thought before standing up straight abruptly and coughing. _What? When did this happen? I'm screwed… well, I've been screwed by her several times… BUT THAT IS NOT THE POINT!!!_ He hollered to himself in his mind. _

"_Apparently, my rolling skills are in need of improvement," while he had berated himself in his head she had stood up and was now invading his personal space. He looked down at her, eyes wide. "But I know one thing I'm doing excellently," she placed her lips on his and coaxed his surprised body into reacting. They fell to the ground, Hermione's lacking dodging skills forgotten._

"_Where are you going?" She said, leaning on his doorframe as he buttoned his least favorite black cloak around him. He turned to look at her sadly._

"_We are going in tonight. Dumbledore says we have no more time," he explained. "Wear black. He'll send you the proper uniform after the ceremony." Both he and Hermione shuddered at the thought of the ceremony. It was brutal, painful. The last woman who attempted it didn't survive. Mutely Hermione nodded and went across the hall to her rooms and began pulling on the black battle gear she'd arrived in._

_Together they apparated to an imposing ruin of a castle. Immediately they were set upon by death eaters growling insults and grabbing at Hermione's body._

_They were dragged in front of Lord Voldemort, Hermione already had a split lip and a swelling wrist. She ignored the pain, focusing on peeking up at the Dark Lord with awe and respect._

"_Severus Snape… I must say I'm surprised that you survived. And that you came back… but you brought me a mudblood? That won't make up for your betrayal." The Dark Lord paced in front of them. Hermione could feel his red eyes burning into her skin. _

"_She's Potter's mudblood," the way Severus spat Harry's name made Hermione wince. "She would like to join us," her jaw was forced upwards and Hermione met his eyes with a wimper._

"_Would you now?" those red eyes invaded her brain and she fed him memory after memory of secret respect for him, a longing to meet him, doubt of the light side's success, a longing for power. "You should have been in Slytherin, my dear. I think we can make use of you, if you survive… that is."_

"The revel that night was… the memory is in a pensive somewhere… you can go through it later if you must." Hermione had to stop talking, her voice was scratchy and hoarse, her eyes were bloodshot and her hands trembled; the only signs that this disturbed her. A selective few in the audience caught this sign and whispered it to their neighbors. She drank from the glass Severus offered her. "Okay, after my acceptance Severus and I stayed apart so that the- Voldemort wouldn't suspect us of working together. After the thing with Nagni however we started working together within the Order to plan the demise of the dar-Voldemort…

"_Next Monday he will be attacking the Minister of magic's house to send the 'warning blow' as he calls it. The attack is scheduled for 12:01, if the order arrives at 12:05 we should be able to stage the final battle. Ministry officials should be alerted at that time as well so that we have more man-power." Hermione said, rubbing her eyes, the dark mark still paining her a year after it had been placed on her. _

"_Won't the Ministry be alerted as soon as the wards are breached?" Ron asked and Hermione scowled at him. Ron shrank back, death eater Hermione was nothing like the Hermione he had once known. He'd known she would change, and she had always been scary but now she had become this ice queen. He hadn't seen her show emotion in at least a year… Sometimes she and Severus would come into meetings, both of them leaning on each other for support. Since the beginning of his decline Voldemort had been getting more violent with his followers. No one escaped his wrath. The day Severus had come in with her in his arms, a wound in her head bleeding freely and her skin a ghostly white Ron had wanted to scream and punch Dumbledore's lights out for letting Hermione do this. She was killing herself slowly, engaging in the most honorable form of suicide. _

_Snape had cried that day. Large bloody tears had poured from his eyes while Molly Weasley held him, the first motherly experience he had had in thirty years. Harry and Ron had sat in horror on the stairs, watching as Minerva and Madame Pompfrey bustled around Hermione's body, not having enough time to move her to a couch. _

"_This is bad, Harry," Ron had whispered, Harry had nodded next to him._

"_We're going to stop it. We have to stop this. Soon." Harry's face had hardened and he had started to get reckless, more violent on the battlefield, throwing curses with a vengeance that scared many._

"_Ronald," Hermione's annoyed voice brought him back to the present. "The Dark Lord can break the wards without anyone noticing. Well, I can rather… but that's not the point."_

"_Hermione is right," Serveus began talking but Ron was stuck on Hermione still. _How long has he been the Dark Lord instead of Voldemort?_ He wondered, even more worried for his friend and one time lover now. _

"_So we attack Monday at twelve o five. Remus, you're to lead the mission. Everyone, assemble under him." Severus said tightly, Hermione also had a grimace plastered to her face. _

"_Alright, we need to go. Remus, you know what to do." Hermione said before both she and Severus scampered from the room, pulling death eater masks from inside their robes. Ron rushed to the window only to grimace when he saw Hermione put the mask on, pull her hood up and apparate away. _Why is it like this? It should never have come to this…_ he thought sadly. A few moments later Harry sat next to Ron's slumped form._

"_Ron… five more days. And hopefully, it'll be over." He said encouragingly._

"_I don't know if I'll make it that long Harry. I can't—" his voice caught in his throat and he covered his face in his hands. "I can't watch her be like this anymore. She's…" He couldn't find the words._

"_Not the girl we knew. Not the girl who was your lover," Harry said quietly and Ron nodded as he cried into his knees. "But she is most certainly still our sister. We'll not leave her the way she is. She'll recover. She might not ever be like she was. But none of us are." Harry was talking to himself. Ron had huddled down into himself._ Merlin… this has to end._ He thought as he held his sobbing brother and thought of his heroine sister who's innocence was forever ruined._


	9. Falling In Love

_A/N: I appologize for the long delay in updating. I can't remember if I mentioned this but I was in Scotland, which is my excuse for not updating. I sincerly hope you enjoy. :)_

**Chapter Nine: In a Temple By the Sea: _Falling In Love_**

"As you know… we won the battle. Harry incinerated the dark lord. Severus and I banished his remains to the seventh plane. And then… well… I don't actually know what happened then. But I woke up in the hospital in Sicily a few weeks later. Severus and I have been there ever since." Hermione finished, sitting back into the chair and rubbing her eyes, suddenly exhausted.

"I don't believe you answered my question, Mrs. Snape. I asked what your relationship to Mr. Snape was?" The minister chided and Hermione looked up at him in what only Severus recognized as surprise.

"I suppose that was the original question wasn't it?" She murmured before once again leaning forwards. "Severus was my teacher, my mentor. And after Nagni, my lover. He cared for me… and somewhere along the lines we fell in love…

"_Miss Granger… Miss Granger…" She was ignoring the voice. She didn't know this man. No one called her Miss Granger anymore… maybe it was one of the death eaters trying to be clever, but the night was over and she was certainly done with him. _I want to go home to Severus…_ she thought as she rolled over. "Hermione…" Now that voice she knew. She opened her eyes and grinned. _

_Severus leaned over her, scarred chest exposed, lean hips enticingly covered by a white silk sheet. "Hermione…" he breathed, running the hand that wasn't supporting him through her hair._

"_Hi," she whispered, leaning forwards to capture his lips with hers. He moaned into her mouth and Hermione rolled on top of him._

"_Hermione… we really shouldn't…" he protested weakly and Hermione frowned and lowered her head to his shoulder._

"_There are lots of things that I shouldn't be doing that involve sex, Severus. And this isn't one of them." She kissed his collar bone. "I'm tired of having sex to please other people. I want to have real sex. Sex that means something. Sex with someone I love. Sex that isn't just giving, but sex that—" His finger was on her lips._

"_Then you should probably go to Harry or Ron, if you want sex with someone you love," he said, moving out from under her and escaping the surprising pain her words had caused. She laughed and looked at his retreating body._

"_Severus, I love you." She said simply. He turned to gape at her. She sat in the middle of his bed, white sheets pooled around her waist, breasts exposed innocently. Her hands folded neatly in her hands, a wry smile on her face. And for a moment Severus knew what life would feel like if there where no skull shaped bruises permanently etched on their arms. What life would have been like without the threat of evil looming over them._

"_What?" he whispered._

"_Have I told you I ache? Isn't it strange, the way things can change? The life that you lead, can be turned on its head. And suddenly someone means more than you felt before. And that house in its yard, turns into home. And the gate that I shut, the last time I got hurt seems to have opened itself. Have I told you I ache? For you.__1__" She said simply, looking straight into his eyes. "I love you,"_

_He had forgotten to breathe. "I love you too, Hermione…" His feet carried him back to his bed, and to the woman in it, who he never thought he'd fall in love with. But somewhere along the way… he had._

"That's my relationship with Severus. I love him. I married him, what is it now? Three weeks?" She asked meeting his eyes for the first time since this trial had begun.

"Three weeks and two days," he said, not making any attempts to stifle the smile or the glow that shone when he talked about it. She smiled at him.

"Severus Snape, when did you realize that you loved Hermione?" The Minster asked. Snape glanced up at him in surprise. _Why do I feel like we're in one of those tacky muggle soap opera's?_ He asked Hermione, smirking at her. She smiled back.

"It began so slowly that I don't know when it happened. It must have started that day in the garden. But when specifically did I fall head over heels? I have no idea…

"_Severus…" Molly Weasley's voice brought him back to the present and he looked up at her in surprise. She held two mugs of hot cocoa in her hands, one of them ridiculously laden with marshmallows. Severus smiled at her. He had never thought he would like this woman, or even trust her, but she had become mother to most of the order. Severus saw her as the warm body he could hold onto when he thought himself too tired to carry on. She picked him up, set him on his feet, bandaged his bruises and sent him on his way, a cookie in both hands. And on late nights when Hermione was on duty and Severus wasn't, she sat with him in the kitchen, feeding him cookies and cocoa with too many marshmallows._

"_Thank you, Molly," he said, accepting the mug with barely concealed glee. _

"_You're more than welcome." They both blew on their cocoa in companionable silence. Molly always stayed up when Severus or Hermione were out on spy duty, knowing the other half of the pair would need someone to sit with them, and knowing the one in the field would need a healer. _

"_I think…" Severus stumbled over the words. "She's so much like Anastazia…" He murmered and Molly raised an eyebrow. Anastazia Silverwind had been the blonde beauty that had captivated the school in her years. She had been uncommonly kind, Lily's best friend. The defender of the helpless. Severus' potions partner. The woman he had sworn undying fealty to. And Voldemort had killed her. Molly had never seen grief like Severus'. It had scared her and she had forbidden Arthur to die. Severus had spent weeks cooped up with Dumbledore. It was in that time period Severus had recklessly taken the mark, returning immediately to Dumbledore and telling him he would be his spy. _

_The Order had been stunned. Lily had cried for him and he had held her, emotion void from his face. He had become a walking corpse, unfeeling. Carrying out orders with a vengeance and stealth that frightened everyone and won him grudging respect. Severus had never been the same man. Recently, however… he had lost that rigid stature. Many had said it was the result of exauhstion. Molly thought differently. He was becoming the man he'd been around Lily and Anna. Full of emotion and willing to express it. Passionate, a bit wild when a new idea overtook him. He had smiled then, danced then and laughed then. The statue like figure he'd been was a result of compartmentalization and legminency practice. It wasn't him. The few times he had Molly had talked over those twenty years she had seen glimpses of her old friend. _

"_I have often thought that. Hermione is… she's very different than Anna, but in the same breath there are times when I see Anna in her," Molly mused Severus nodded._

"_They say that magic is recycled. That it doesn't die when a person does. It just moves on and manifests itself within someone else. Hermione is around the right age…" Severus said as he slurped his chocolate with less dignity that Ron. _

"_Severus… be wary you don't fall in love with the memory of Anastazia, if you're going to fall in love again. Do it with Hermione, the real woman who stands before you." Molly warned and Severus laughed._

"_Believe you me, I am well aware that Hermione and Anastazia are different women. Anastazia was whimsical; her knowledge was that of the earth and people. She could never have challenged me or annoyed me the way Hermione does. For years all I saw of Hermione was a bush of hair and a waving hand. She was the know-it-all-Gryffindor. But now that she's grown… she is fire and passion. Knowledge of the world and its workings billows from her. She spins and dances to her own tune. Where Anastazia was steady Hermione is unpredictable and brilliant." Severus looked up and Molly and laughed, surprised by his own speech. _

"_Severus… what are you doing?" Molly wondered aloud. He shrugged boyishly._

"_Falling in love I think…" He was giddy. He'd come to a realization and instead of horrifying him he was giddy. He wanted to run about the room laughing. Mirth seemed to be bubbling through his pores. "Hermione… she sees something else in me. She see's through my shadow. She _believes _in me Molly! She really does. She sees past this blasted mark and sees the man. She sees the light within me. Not just the dark people have seen for so long. She's become my inspiration, my northern star. Everything that was mine, it's hers now. She can have it all, as long as I can have her. In her eyes I see the sky and all I'll ever need. In her eyes time passes by, and she's all I need.__2__" He had gotten up and wandered around the room, declaring to the stones his irrational, inexplicable love for Hermione Granger. _

"_Well… I would say you've fallen in love." Molly laughed. Delighted that after all this time spent fighting a war and darkness people could still fall in love despite the obstacles. Severus turned to look at her and laughed. The gaunt hollows of his face fading, the lines of stress and pain vanishing within his delight. On the other side of the door Harry and Ron stared at each other. After long moments of horror Harry shrugged. _

"_At least we know she's truly loved," he whispered. _

"_I think… I think Snape might understand… you know… with all the Death Eater stuff… he'll be able to… well…" Ron stumbled, trying to understand this odd new turn of events._

"_He'll get it," Harry finished for him. They nodded and shrank back… still a little grossed out by the thought of a Snape with feelings._

1 "Ache", James Carrington

2 "In Her Eyes" Josh Groban


	10. Epilouge

_A/N: This is the last chapter. I would like to thank all of my lovely reviewers. You made this fun and it was a joy to write for you all. I hope you'll keep tabbs on my future work. Happy New Year. _

**Epilouge: In a Temple By the Sea: Finale**

"That was of course, months before I figured out that she loved me too," Severus explained to the crowd of swooning female reporters and a skeptical Wizengamot. "I'm not a hero, I'm not an angel, I'm just a man trying to love her, unlike any other." He shrugged. "That is what I've taken from this war. I don't care what the press or history books say. My reward for this war is the beautiful, strong, passionate woman sitting next to me. The rest of it pales in comparison," he looked at Hermione, who smiled delicately at him.

"Is that all Minister? You seem to have taken up most of our day. And I'd very much like to stop in at Flourish and Blotts before it closes," She said, cordial for the fist time all day.

"Ah, yes… of course… Mr. and Mrs. Snape, I will see that your records are clean by morning, and that you're recognized for your trials." He said, somewhat taken aback by the revival or Hermione's old, sweet self. The newlyweds nodded and emerged from their chairs. Snape wrapped his arms around his young wife and camera bulbs flashed.

"Well done, my good and faithful wife." He whispered into her hair as she clung to him.

"I love you, Severus." She looked up into his obsidian eyes, focusing on them entirely. He leant down and she reached up, their lips meeting and combining. _I could die happy…_ Hermione thought in surprise.

_Please don't._ Severus grinned. Both of them laughed. _But I could die happy too._

The daily prophet and all other wizarding publications were printed the next morning with pictures of the surprising couple without their knowledge. Their friends frequented the Victorian villa on the coast, but it was not until owls dropped letters sealed with the Hogwarts crest on them that they returned to the bustling wizarding world, quite unnoticed after their twelve year absence.

_And they lived happily ever after._

_The End._


End file.
